Anniversary in Munich – the 50th Numismata Munich

March 2, 2017 – When the first Numismata took place in Munich in 1970, nobody could have imagined that this name would become the trademark of the most successful European coin fair for Classic numismatics.

Back then the exhibition space in the Löwenbräukeller amounted to 400 square meters but has increased tenfold by now, currently measuring 3,800 square meters. More than 4,000 visitors from Germany and abroad attend the fair regularly to make purchases.

Already in the 1970s, however, the number of visitors was nothing to sneeze at, either. The founding years of the Numismata after all coincided with a time of inflation when many investors anxiously turned to physical assets.

The initiative for the Numismata came from collectors. Members of the Bayerische Numismatische Gesellschaft (Bavarian Numismatic Society) approached adventurous coin dealers, asking them to kindly hold a fair that would also attract non-Bavarian coin dealers. At that time, the collectors still almost knew “their” dealers by heart, there were virtually no fixed price offers, and the majority of Bavarian dealers were specialized in Bavarian strikings.

The top dogs of course had reservations at first, but the idea to attract customers from the surrounding area to Munich with such large a fair was convincing. And so the 1st Numismata was launched.

Over the past 37 years, the initially regional fair has grown into a major enterprise. Not only Munich, but also Berlin, Frankfurt and Vienna are venues of the Numismata. Together with his team, Erich Modes is responsible for the organization of all Numismatas. He took over “his” Numismata in 1982, when the great flows of visitors, driven to the coin fairs by the silver boom, were just decreasing. It was through his perseverance, his creativity and his understanding of the needs of dealers and collectors alike that the Numismata has become THE meeting place for collectors who are interested in the Classic areas of numismatics.